Tomb of Annhilation: The Beginning

New year, new campaign!

This one I am playing in and I'm going to mark observations, ruminations and if I'm good I'll try to novelize this one.

We're about 4 sessions in to ToA.  Ok, we're exactly 4 sessions in.  This group is basically new to me, and playing is a way to get my mojo back for actually DMing again.  After the debacle of Temple of Elemental Evil, we tried 2E once more, then 5E and the same problem player from ToEE haunted both games with all the same inter-player issues from both games.

So, year long break for me.

This one is an interesting campaign since I haven't played a book module in ages.  It's been a slow start, but hopefully we've gotten on the same page enough with the DM that the pace will pick up now.

For posterity, we have the following characters:

Ariel Roseroot: Whaterdhavian Human (Female), Cleric of Lathander
Naciria (Poetry): Tiefling Warlock (Female) - drifter, most recently form Waterdeep
Gearbox: Gnome illusionist (Male), a traveler also with ties to Waterdeep
Clara Celerathiar: Half-elf monk, has familial ties to the wood elves of Chult, but also a traveler.  Again with ties to waterdeep.
Logarion Cormaeril: Cormyrean Human (Male), Rogue "merchant" (Disgraced noble scion)

Two things I noticed right away: Most groups I see playing this campaign online tend to make very fantastical parties full of high fantasy characters.  Firbolgs, Tritons, Aasimir, Lizardfolk, even Kobolds and other unusual species seem to crop up regularly.  Whereas out party is very firmly rooted in the PHB.  The characters feel pretty gritty - no one has a backstory where they have done anything impressive yet.  All the characters are very much *starting* character - which in a way is a boon.  Our background fit the stats we have.

Amusingly enough we have two players who are extremely familiar with the Realms, one who is reasonably familiar with the realms and two for whom this is their first Realms game.
Ariel's player and Logarion's player have both been playing in the Realms since 2E so Ariel's backstory is a complicated web of histories that tie her family to the last 150 years of Whaterdhavian intrigue, while Logarion's backstory (as evidenced by his very name for those in the know) has a goldmine of story hooks concerning the his nebulous relationship to the Cormyrean crown.

The other players created characters who were pretty archetypal for DnD (save Clara, the youngest player who likes monks because she studies martial arts) and honestly I like that.  You get the old standards like a gnome illusionist that have been pooh-poohed for so long that they feel fresh again.

I'm also amused that 4 of the 5 players have ties to Waterdeep (and 3 of the 5 have interconnecting backstories).  Why Waterdeep?  Acquisitions Incorporated made it cool again. 

Thems the notes, on to the Campaign!